Precast fireplace veneer

ABSTRACT

A one piece concrete cast fireplace veneer having a simulated masonry finish such as a brick or stone and with brackets or bolts cast in the veneer used for holding it to the fireplace. There may be provided a second precast section which also has a surface finish simulating conventional fireplace materials and which extends the facing up to the ceiling.

ited tates atent Harris, J r.

[54] PRECAST FIREPLACE VENEER [58] Field of Search ..52/314, 583, 587, 218, 219, 52/311, 235, 511, 36; 126/120,138

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 739,646 9/1903 Carter ..52/587 1,484,520 2/1924 Michod ..52/5 87 1,527,723 2/1925 Woodward ..52/218 [451 Sept. 12, 1972 1,671,434 5/1928 Mackay ..52/218 1,709,954 4/1929 Saltiel ..52/5 87 1,968,189 7/1934 Bartel ..52/587 X 2,920,475 1/1960 Graham ..52/587 X 3,460,525 8/1969 Bryant ..52/218 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,472,528 1/1967 France ..52/235 Primary Examiner-John E. Murtagh Att0rneySpensley, Horn and Lubitz [5 7 ABSTRACT A one piece concrete cast fireplace veneer having a simulated masonry finish such as a brick or stone and with brackets or bolts cast in the veneer used for holding it to the fireplace. There may be provided a second precast section which also has a surface finish simulating conventional fireplace materials and which extends the facing up to the ceiling.

2 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 5! fa I PATENTEDSEP 12 I972 SHEET 1 BF 3 /III? I NVENTUR.

PRECAST FIREPLACE VENEER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to fireplaces, and more particularly, to facings or veneers for fireplaces.

2. Prior Art Traditionally, fireplaces having been laid up of brick or stone on the site and the firebox facing or veneer has been laid piece by piece by the mason in conjunction with the erection of the fireplace structure. It has recently become popular to precast fireplaces in order to speed up the process of building a house as well as to make it more economical and neater. The veneer has, however, continued to be hand laid and therefore the advantages of the precast fireplace have not been fully realized. For example, a hand laid veneer having the same appearance as that illustrated in FIG. 1 would take a skilled mason approximately 3 man hours to erect and further involve the use of substantial quantities of mortar with attendant cleanup problems while on the other hand the present invention requires but 1 man hour to install using relatively unskilled help and much smaller quantities of mortar thus making the cleanup problem significantly easier and the overall cost much less. The precast veneer of this invention provides an economical precast unit which can be rapidly installed by relatively unskilled installers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The fireplace veneer of this invention consists of a one piece reinforced concrete casting which carries clips or bolts to facilitate fastening to the front surface of a fireplace. The veneer has an opening for the firebox and may or may not be cast with an integral projecting mantle. The front surface of the veneer is cast with the characteristics of brick, slumpstone, fieldstone or other material as desired to simulate a veneer laid up of the desired material. A second cast piece with a similar surface finish may be provided which will extend the veneer to ceiling height, if desired.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simply installed one piece veneer for finishing the face of fireplaces.

It is another object of this invention to provide an inexpensive facing for a fireplace.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings of presently preferred embodiments of my invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front of a precast fireplace veneer, constructed in accordance with a presently preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mold for casting the fireplace veneer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the reinforcing iron skeleton of an embodiment of the invention using hangers as securing means for the fireplace veneer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partly cutaway rear view of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 1 which uses hangers as securing means;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a fireplace with brackets installed to receive a fireplace veneer with hangers in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a fireplace veneer with hangers and an upper facing installed on a fireplace;

FIG. 7 is a partly cutaway front view of an upper facing; and

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a fireplace veneer using studs as the securing means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings where in FIG. 1 the fireplace veneer I0 is shown having a surface finish simulating common brick. The veneer is a lightweight concrete casting which, by using a proper mold configuration, can be made to simulate any desired masonry material such as, for example: brick, slumpstone, tile, or fieldstone. The veneer is cast with an opening 11 providing access to the firebox and, if desired, an integrally cast mantle 12.

The veneer is cast in mold 13 shown in FIG. 2 which consists of a metal form 14, lined with elastomer liner 15 which has the surface configuration required for producing a finished product with the desired appearance. The surface configuration of the elastomer is effected by suspending in the metal form 14 a finished veneer which has been hand laid of the materials to be simulated, pouring liquid elastomer into the space between the veneer and the form and allowing the liquid to cure into a solid elastomer. The cured elastomer can then be peeled off and will reproduce the surface of the hand laid veneer when it is subsequently usedas a mold. The liner so made is suitable for casting a large number of veneers before having to be discarded. A supporting separate leg 16 serves to level the mold. The size of the mold and consequently the finished product depends, of course, on the desires of the manufacturer any practical sized fireplace can be faced using this invention. A typical veneer, for example, simulating common brick could be 6 feet wide, 4 feet high to the top of the mantle and 4 inches thick, the mantle portion being 9 inches thick. The firebox opening in such a veneer could be 3 feet wide by 2%. feet high. IV are The veneer as shown in FIG. 4, a presently preferred embodiment, is reinforced with three steel reinforcing bars 17, 18 and 19 which are welded together in the form of a U. At the open end of the U, straps 20 and 21 are welded to bars 17 and 18. The strapscontain holes 27 and 28 near their ends. Hangers 22 and 23 are welded to bar 19 near the points of intersection with bars 17 and 18. Prior to pouring the concrete, the reinforcing framework is set into mold 13 such that straps 20 and 21 overhang the rim of the mold. The lips of hangers 22 and 23 are held by support 24 which lays across the top of the mold 13. After the mold is poured full of concrete, support 24 is removed and the concrete allowed to set. When the casting has cured long enough to have sufficient strength, the mold is inverted and pulled off the finished veneer. The veneer is then left to cure long enough for it to attain high strength before shipping to the building site. Full strength is normally attained in concrete after 28 days. It is not necessary. to: wait the full 28 days before shipping as the major portion of its strength is attained in only 7 days.

At treatment of installation site two wall brackets and 26 are fastened to the face of the fireplace 41 using any convenient method such as lead anchors and bolts or bolts through the face of the fireplace into the firebox. The wall brackets 25 and 26 are so placed as to mate with hangers 22 and 23 when the veneer is installed. Holes 29 and are drilled in near the bottom of the fireplace to match the holes 27 and 28 in straps 20 and 21. Lead anchors are installed in the holes 29 and 30. The holes 29 and 30 are drilled far enough above the floor level so that when the veneer is installed just enough space will be left to slip a hearth 31 under the veneer as shown in FIG. 6.

The face of the fireplace is covered with mortar, except in the area of wall brackets 25 and 26 and holes 29 and30. The veneer is then set in place with hangers 22 and 23 engaging brackets 25 and 26. The bottom of the veneer is secured by bolts through holes 27 and 28 into the lead anchors in holes 29 and 30. Hearth 31 is then slipped under the veneer 10. A layer of mortar 32 under hearth 31 serves to hold it in place and any gap 33 between the hearth and the fireplace is also filled with mortar.

FIG. 8 shows an alternate embodiment of the invention similar to the one shown in FIG. 4 except that instead of hangers 22 and 23, threaded studs 42 and 43 are welded to reinforcing rod 44, which corresponds to rod 19 of the embodiment of FIG. 4. The studs are so spaced that upon installation they will be within the area of the fireplace firebox.

The installation is similar to that previously described except that no brackets are mounted on the fireplace face, but instead two holes are drilled through the face into the firebox spaced to correspond with the studs 42 and 43. The firebox face is coated with mortar and the veneer set in place against it with studs 42 and 43 extending through the holes previously drilled. Nuts and washers installed on the studs from the inside of the firebox secure the veneer. Straps 45 and 46 correspond to straps 20 and 21 of FIG. 4 and are installed in the same way. Hearth installation is identical with that previously described.

In some installations it is desirable to continue the fireplace veneer above the mantle up to the ceiling. For these installations a separate upper facing 34 as shown in FIG. 6 is used. Upper facing 34 is cast of concrete in a mold similar in construction to that used for the veneer 10. A network of reinforcing bars 35 and steel mesh 36 is used to reinforce the upper facing 34. These can be seen in FIG. 7. Two nailing straps 37 and 38 are cast into the side of upper facing 34 near its top. Nails through these straps into the top plate of the house framing is used to secure the top of the facing to the house structure. Two clips 39 and 40 extending out of the bottom of the facing slip between the fireplace veneer 10 and the fireplace structure 41 itself and retain the bottom of the facing.

The structures discussed are merely illustrative of preferred structures and the invention is not intended to be so limited. Other suitable structures coming within the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A fireplace veneer comprised of:

a. a unitary concrete casting having a thickness dimension substantially less than its length and width dimensions and its exposed surface finished so as to simulate masonry, said casting having an opening therein corresponding to the opening of a firebox of a fireplace and a mantle portion having a thickness greater than the remainder of said castb. a U-shaped framework comprising first, second and third steel reinforcing rods, each of said rods having first and second ends, said rods being welded together in the form of a U, said first ends of said first and second rods respectively defining the open end of said U and said third rod defining the bottom thereof, said framework being disposed within the interior of said casting in a position whereby said open end of said U corresponds to said opening in said casting;

c. first and second straps welded to said first and second rods at said first ends thereof respectively, said first and second straps each having a portion thereof depending outwardly from the bottom surface of said casting, said outwardly depending portions of said first and second straps each having a hole located therein; and

d. first and second hangers welded to said third rod near first and second points respectively where said third rod intersects said first and second rods to form said U-shaped framework, said first and second hangers each having a lip depending outwardly and downwardly from the back surface of said casting, said lip being adapted to engage brackets attached to the face of said fireplace.

2. The fireplace veneer of claim 1 in combination with an upper facing, said upper facing comprising:

a. a second unitary planar concrete casting having a thickness dimension substantially less than its length and width dimensions and its exposed surfaces finished so as to simulate a masonry surface; a network of steel reinforcing bars and steel mesh disposed internally within said second casting;

c. first and second straps fixedly secured to said second casting near the top thereof and depending outwardly from first and second side surfaces of said second casting respectively, said first and second straps being adapted to pass nails for securing said upper facing to a building structure; and

d. first and second clips fixedly secured to said second casting near the bottom thereof and depending outwardly from the bottom surface of said second casting, said clips being adapted to slip between said fireplace veneer and said fireplace. 

1. A fireplace veneer comprised of: a. a unitary concrete casting having a thickness dimension substantially less than its length and width dimensions and its exposed surface finished so as to simulate masonry, said casting having an opening therein corresponding to the opening of a firebox of a fireplace and a mantle portion having a thickness greater than the remainder of said casting; b. a U-shaped framework comprising first, second and third steel reinforcing rods, each of said rods having first and second ends, said rods being welded together in the form of a U, said first ends of said first and second rods respectively defining the open end of said U and said third rod defining the bottom thereof, said framework being disposed within the interior of said casting in a position whereby said open end of said U corresponds to said opening in said casting; c. first and second straps welded to said first and second rods at said first ends thereof respectively, said first and second straps each having a portion thereof depending outwardly from the bottom surface of said casting, said outwardly depending portions of said first and second straps each having a hole located therein; and d. first and second hanGers welded to said third rod near first and second points respectively where said third rod intersects said first and second rods to form said U-shaped framework, said first and second hangers each having a lip depending outwardly and downwardly from the back surface of said casting, said lip being adapted to engage brackets attached to the face of said fireplace.
 2. The fireplace veneer of claim 1 in combination with an upper facing, said upper facing comprising: a. a second unitary planar concrete casting having a thickness dimension substantially less than its length and width dimensions and its exposed surfaces finished so as to simulate a masonry surface; b. a network of steel reinforcing bars and steel mesh disposed internally within said second casting; c. first and second straps fixedly secured to said second casting near the top thereof and depending outwardly from first and second side surfaces of said second casting respectively, said first and second straps being adapted to pass nails for securing said upper facing to a building structure; and d. first and second clips fixedly secured to said second casting near the bottom thereof and depending outwardly from the bottom surface of said second casting, said clips being adapted to slip between said fireplace veneer and said fireplace. 